With October being breast cancer awareness month, the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League donned pink jerseys to raise both awareness and support for breast cancer research in Canada on behalf of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation October 24, 2008.

This is a perfect example of how sporting teams can give back to their communities and bolster fan support as well. It is a win-win situation.

With a crowd of 7713 in the arena, the Mooseheads got off to a spirited start pressing the Chicoutimi Sagueneens most of the first period. Halifax dominated the first period, but were not able to get on the scoreboard as a couple marginal penalty calls kept the Sagueneens in the game and even allowed them to score the first goal of the game.

The Mooseheads tied the game early in the second period and thought they had the go ahead goal scored, only to have it called back as the referee had apparently penalized Halifax for interference. On the resulting power play, Chicoutimi scored to take the lead and the home team was unable to regain their momentum as the visitors went on to soundly beat the Mooseheads by a score of 7 – 1.

The real interest in the arena was with the pink jerseys the home team was wearing. Pink is not a colour for hockey, but the Mooseheads looked great in these uniforms. Some lucky fans walked away with the precious jerseys as tickets were sold during the game with the proceeds going to support breast cancer research. After the hockey game each fan with a winning ticket was escorted onto the ice to pick a number that corresponded with a player on the team. That player then came forward and took the sweater off his back to give to the fortunate fan.

Despite the loss, a few players on the Halifax Mooseheads had strong games. Travis Randell worked hard all night playing strong fundamental hockey. Gabriel Desjardins was going full tilt the whole game creating chances for his team. Justin Pender and Gabriel O’Connor were strong on the puck and the other team the entire game, showing real tenacity on the blue line. Yuri Cheremetiev really made it difficult for the Sagueneens in their own end as he showed his fore-checking prowess.